


following the faded memories

by winterheats



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, bartender au without all the bartending lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 02:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11910939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterheats/pseuds/winterheats
Summary: Junmyeon barely remembers what happened that night, but Sehun does. Three years later, in need of a part-time job, Junmyeon ends up working for Sehun's bar, still completely unaware of that night.





	following the faded memories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [orchidwai_hunho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orchidwai_hunho/gifts).



> um hi i'd like to apologize in advance for the monstrosity you're about to read. as you can see, this was my first time completing a fic that was more than like 3k. 
> 
> i'm not sure if this is exactly what the prompter was looking for but i hope whoever's reading this is able to find some enjoyment in it!!
> 
> *title taken from the lyrics to walk on memories

The sun pierced through the spaces of Junmyeon’s blinds. He woke up with a startle, looking around before realizing he was in bed, in his own apartment. All too quickly was he hit by the pounding of his head from his hangover. “Fuck,” he groaned, pressing the palm of his hand to his temple. 

He slowly sat up and grabbed his phone from his bedside table. Just a couple of missed calls and texts from Jongdae and Minseok. They had gone out the night prior for some drinks but despite the killer hangover, Junmyeon didn’t regret going out at all. He might not have completely remembered everything that went down, but he did feel like that it was a much needed stress reliever.

After having gotten out of a two year relationship with someone he naively thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with and recently quitting his job at the bank, Junmyeon began to feel like things would start looking up for him. Even though he had no recollection of last night’s events, Junmyeon thought that it was an effective way of having relieved some of the stress that he had let consume him for a while. 

The used condom in Junmyeon’s trash bin went completely unnoticed the rest of the morning.

 

It felt way too early for Sehun to be up but Sehun knew his body was betraying him for having gotten drunk the night before. Granted, he didn’t get drunk enough to have a blackout; he was fortunate, unlike someone else, to have some recollection of last night’s events. 

Sitting up, Sehun reached out for his phone that he left charging on the ground. It was a weird habit of his that he wasn’t quite sure how or when it started, but whenever he came home drunk, it was like muscle memory for him to plug his phone in before clumsily getting into bed. 

His phone read 2:25 PM. Sehun had gotten a decent amount of sleep since coming home. He had wanted to stay the entire night and wake up next to the stranger he slept with, but he remembered that he needed to pick up Vivi, his dog, from the dogsitter place at 9. He had caught a taxi home around 4 AM earlier that morning, knocked out as soon as he got home, woke up in time to pick up Vivi then went back to bed.

Checking through his notifications, Sehun immediately smiled when he looked through his camera roll. He went through a couple pictures of a man who he assumed was who he hooked up with last night. There was one where the man is standing up, shirtless, and bending in a weird position so he could get in frame as Sehun took a selfie laying on the bed. The next one was a selfie that the man took himself. He’s buried in the sheets with only the top half of his head peaking out. Next to him was Sehun, who was sleeping. There were many more pictures of just the two of them, a lot of them being blurry and out of frame, but Sehun decided on keeping them anyway. 

 

 

The place was a mess. Clothes were scattered all over the bed and floor in his room. Dishes were still in the sink for who knows how many days. Even when his life was somewhat put together, Junmyeon had always been a pretty messy person. He couldn’t help it. 

Seeing as he was still feeling a bit hungover and didn’t have any other plans, cleaning his apartment was what Junmyeon decided to focus on doing that day. He started with his room, picking up his clothes and putting them into piles, separating what needed to be washed and what needed to be folded or hung back up. 

He noticed that his trash bin next to his bed was almost full. He was about to tie the ends of the plastic bag together when something caught his eye. 

“What is this?” Junmyeon inched his head closer towards the trash bin in his hand. His eyes widened as he realized what exactly caught his eye. 

“Did I sleep with someone last night?” This could explain why, when Junmyeon woke up earlier that morning, he felt an unfamiliar absence. Now that he actually thought about it, he did vaguely remember meeting someone last night. The face and events that followed were still a blur but just trying to remember what happened was enough to trigger a switch in his brain. 

Flashes of events played back in his head but he couldn’t grasp any specific details. All he could conclude so far was that he had met someone last night, hit it off with them, and eventually went back to his place and fucked. 

 

Scrolling through the channels on his flat screen, Sehun grew impatient waiting for his pizza to arrive. He hadn’t eaten anything since he woke up a couple hours ago and if his food wasn’t going to arrive soon, he really felt like he was going to lose it. 

His anger diminished as soon as he heard a knock on the door. His eyes lit up as he practically hopped his way to the door. To his surprise, Jongin stood before him once Sehun opened the door.

“Is that my pizza?” Sehun asked, acknowledging the box of pizza in Jongin’s hand and a 3 oz. liter coke in the other. “Yeah.”

“How’d you even…”

Jongin took a step inside and walked towards the couch. “I saw the pizza guy on my way up. I figured it had to be you. You’re the only person I know who consistently orders pizza after they have a hangover.”

Sitting back down, Sehun tilted his head in curiousity. “Really? I didn’t know you overanalyzed me that much.”

“I don’t.”

“Right.” Sehun stuffed a slice of pepperoni pizza into his mouth.

They continued to just eat pizza, the two of them, as a random show played on the television. A couple slices were eaten when suddenly, Sehun’s phone vibrated on the glass coffee table. 

It was just a notification that he set up for himself to remind him that his rent would be due in a couple days. He had to make sure he asked his dad for the money before he forgot again.

Sehun was only twenty years old but his parents let him live on his own for the last two years he had at university. It was a lot of freedom they had granted him and for the most part because Sehun didn’t have a job, so he relied heavily on them financially in almost every aspect of his life. 

Sehun liked to consider himself a simple individual, despite having been the type of person who had spent the past two to three months in clubs at least more than three nights a week. Although he was rather introverted, being in social environments with people he was close to helped him open up to meeting new people whenever he was those situations. 

In fact, that social awakening had brought a lot of change into Sehun’s life recently. Ever since Jongin and Chanyeol had introduced him to the night scene last year, Sehun really enjoyed going out with them. They would go out every other weekend during the school year but once summer started, life became a nonstop party for them. 

On many occasions, Sehun found himself sleeping with a different guy every night he went out. He lived in a big city but a lot of people he would meet for the first time would come to have the perception that Sehun was a playboy. 

Yeah, Sehun liked to sleep around, but he did it for the pure enjoyment of it. He’s never really found himself attracted to any of the men he’s slept with to the point of wanting to pursue something more than just sex; yet Sehun’s mind kept going back to the face of the man he slept with last night. 

He had his pictures on his phone, but not his number. 

“Who’s that?”

Sehun hadn’t realized that he was mindlessly staring at his phone’s lockscreen. He forgot that he had used the picture of the odd angled selfie of him and the stranger as his lockscreen. “I really wish I knew.”

“Huh?”

“He was the guy I slept with last night. We both got super drunk and went back to his apartment and you know, fucked. But I had to leave early because I needed to pick up Vivi.”

“And you didn’t get his number? His name?”

Sehun thought about that. “I probably did get his name when we met but like I said, we got drunk. As for his number, nope. I only have pictures of him.”

“Pity.” Jongin empathetically pouted. “Show me!”

Jongin scooted closer to Sehun on the sofa with his pizza in one hand as Sehun started showing him the photos.

“Oh my god.” Sehun turned to Jongin, who looked back at him.

“I know right?” Sehun grinned.

“Please tell me you remember where he lives.”

He didn’t have his name, his number, and now he didn’t remember his address either.

“I’m an idiot.”

“Cheer up. Knowing you, you’ll probably end up sleeping with some other guy two nights from now who’ll make you forget all about that guy from last night.”

Sehun wished he was as confident in Jongin’s assumption as Jongin himself was, but there was something about the man last night that he felt he wouldn’t be able to forget, despite not remembering much about him.

 

_3 years later_

The room was nearly empty, save for a couple men at the counter having a talk with the only bartender. Granted, it was only about 3:30 PM on a Wednesday; naturally, it’d make sense that a bar wouldn’t have much people in it. 

He was here to meet the owner of the bar and discuss the possibility of hiring him. For a while, Junmyeon had considered getting a part-time job that wasn’t too stressful so he could keep some income steady while he continued working as a freelance photographer. It had been three years since he made the decision following the resignation of his job at the bank, and although he never regretted doing it, he was always worried that pursuing what he truly wanted to do would eventually lead him to sleep on the streets (which everyone knew was a lie, considering Junmyeon came from a wealthy background and his parents would never let their son be homeless; Junmyeon just didn’t like having to rely on his parents for finances).

Jongdae was the one who set this whole thing up. He had been going to the same gym as the owner, Sehun, and had brought up his friend, Junmyeon, who was in need for a job. A couple conversations later between Jongdae and Sehun brought Junmyeon here on a Wednesday afternoon, in a bar he noticed was actually quite nice, but pretty empty. The room was pretty spacious despite its appearance of being small from the outside. To the left of the entrance was a more casual seating area with tables next to a small stage. To the right of the entrance was the actual bar area, which had a decently sized counter to fit more than a handful of customers. The interior was mainly black with silver accents and Junmyeon got a modern feel from the place just by having stood inside for only a couple seconds. 

According to Jongdae, Sehun was interested to see if Junmyeon wanted to work the “dead hours” of the bar. Junmyeon wasn’t sure how much money that would bring in but he didn’t want to give up the offer completely.

The only two customers in the bar had just left and the bartender was nowhere to be found. Junmyeon was starting to wonder if this was legit. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to clean up a bit after the guys left.”

Junmyeon turned around. The man he identified as the bartender was walking towards him. He hadn’t gotten a good look at him before but now that he was walking towards him, Junmyeon could see that he was quite attractive. He had black hair that was styled up, eyebrows that framed his face well, and a set of small pink lips to top off a fair and blemish-free face. 

As the bartender made his way to the seat across him, Junmyeon stood up to shake hands with him. “You must be Sehun?”

They both sat down. “Yeah. Junmyeon, is that correct?” Junmyeon nodded. He doesn’t remember Jongdae describing Sehun at all so seeing him for the first time like this was a huge surprise. He looked younger than than Junmyeon and he wasn’t sure if it was the possibility of him being his future boss, but there was also an aura of maturity to him. 

“How soon are you able to work?” The question took Junmyeon by surprise. 

“Oh, well, how soon do you need me?”

Sehun laughed, “Sorry! I hope that didn’t sound like I was rushing you!”

Junmyeon made note of the way Sehun’s eyes smiled when he laughed.

Junmyeon smiled back, “It’s fine, you just took me by surprise, but I can start as soon as...well, right now, if you needed me.” Junmyeon turned to look around. “But you probably don’t need me at this exact moment.”

“You’re right. Does tomorrow sound good?”

“Yeah, of course. What time exactly did you want me to work?”

“Come in a little before 3. We open at 3 and you can close around 8.”

“Five hours?” Junmyeon was curious as to how many people would be walking in to get drinks in the afternoon and how that would be enough to pay him but he didn’t want to come off as rude.

“Yes, five hours. I know what you’re thinking but trust me, you don’t have to worry.”

Junmyeon bit the inside of his lip. “Alright.”

He wasn’t sure how well this job opportunity was going to work out but for him but Junmyeon wasn’t going to let himself overthink it too much. Leaving the bar, he noted that although Sehun was someone he was meeting for the first time, there was just something so familiar to him but he couldn’t quite figure out what exactly.

 

Later that night, Junmyeon had gotten a text from an unknown number. 

_hey it’s sehun! sorry i didn’t even realize how short and brief our meeting was. we barely got to discuss work, which was what the meeting was set up for in the first place! did u wanna swing by the bar before i open?_

Junmyeon checked the time. It was only 8:15 PM. 

_definitely! i’ll be there in twenty mins._

 

The door was locked when Junmyeon tried to push it open. He was about to pull his phone out to call Sehun when he suddenly saw a figure come from behind the bar area walking to the door. 

Standing there watching Sehun walk forward, Junmyeon was in awe. He naturally walked as if he were modeling. Sehun was just wearing a black t-shirt and some grey sweatpants but he made them look designer and expensive.

“Hey, thanks for coming!” Sehun opened the door and Junmyeon walked in. Not knowing where to go, he waited for Sehun to lock the door and followed him to the bar area. “You can have a seat. I’ll make us some drinks. Any requests?”

Junmyeon sat on the high chair and turned himself in Sehun’s direction. “Thanks, but is just an iced tea alright?”

Sehun gave out a small laugh, “You didn’t have to ask. Does a lemon-mint iced tea sound good?”

Junmyeon nodded and Sehun proceeded to make the drinks. 

“I didn’t even ask you if you had any work experience while we were talking earlier, but I didn’t because Jongdae had already told me that you had some experience bartending in college? Is that correct?”

“Yeah, he was right. In my spare time I also like to make drinks at home for guests, or well, for myself if I ever feel like I need a pick-me-up.”

“I assume you know how to make the basics then?” Sehun pulled a menu from below the counter and handed it to Junmyeon, who then scanned over the list of drinks.

“Pretty much!”

By then, Sehun had already poured the drink into two separate glasses and gently pushed one of them towards Junmyeon.

Junmyeon “oooo’d in response. 

“You won’t have any problems then. A lot of the people who’ll come in during your shift always order off the menu. Rarely do they ever ask for anything special.”

“And when they do?”

Sehun furrowed one of his brows. “Good question. If ever they do ask for anything special, that’s where your own expertise comes in!”

“Are you saying I just make them a drink I know how to make that isn’t on the menu?”

“To put it simply, yes.”

Junmyeon took another sip of his drink. He was surprised at how Sehun managed to make a lemon drink that didn’t taste so...lemony? 

“If you don’t mind me asking, but how old are you, Sehun?”

“I’m twenty-three.” Junmyeon almost spit out his drink. 

“Shocking, right?” Sehun asked. 

“Extremely. You’re only twenty-three yet you own this place?”

“Don’t be too surprised. It’s my dad’s.”

“Oh?”

“It was somewhat of a graduation present? A pretty late one. He was about to sell the space since he wasn’t getting much customers anymore but I asked if I could take over and he gave me permission.”

“Just like that?”

“Okay, I know I grew up spoiled but it was actually quite a challenge. He wanted to see if I had what it takes to run a bar so he made me run it for a couple nights.”

Junmyeon was real interested now. “And how’d that turn out?”

“Horrible, as one would expect from a twenty-one year old with too much drinking experience and no bartending experience.”

“So how’d you manage to get him to give you the place?”

“Those few nights he left me in charge, I was able to bring in a lot of people. Despite the bad service I gave being under pressure and all, people said they enjoyed the atmosphere and entertainment. The money that came in that night was more than what my dad had been making there for six months prior to that night.”

“You’re lying.”

There was a youthful sparkle in Sehun’s eyes that Junmyeon noticed as he spoke. “I mean, I opened the place from night to sunrise and a lot of people who came were college students and people I had graduated with. My, as some would call it, ‘playboy years’ really helped with those past couple of nights.” Junmyeon almost choked after hearing the word ‘playboy’ but managed to not go noticed by Sehun, who only continued talking. “It was a huge shift in demographic but my dad recognized that profit could be made from the bar again so he had no choice but to eventually give me what I wanted.”

Junmyeon turned his head in both directions, looking at the interior of the place. “So I assume all of this was renovated under your direction?” Sehun gave him a big and assuring smile, meaning that was a yes.

“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sehun asked before taking a sip of his drink, then puffing his cheeks before swallowing.

“I’m twenty-six.”

“Ah. So Jongdae was right.”

“Right about what?” What was it that Jongdae told Sehun?

“He told me you were old, which I don’t think you’re at that age to be called ‘old’ quite yet.”

Junmyeon let out a sigh of relief. “He showed me a picture of you and I just thought that you looked too handsome to just be some accountant at a bank,” Sehun remarked. “Being a photographer suits you better.”

Junmyeon blushed. “I-thank you.” He continued sipping on his tea, not realizing he was done and was now sucking up water from the ice. He was surprised by how comfortable he and Sehun seemed to be with each other at the moment, just continuously talking. It was as if they weren’t strangers who had met for the first time only hours ago.

But little did Junmyeon know, Sehun remembered him from three years ago and was just playing along. He wasn’t sure if Junmyeon remembered that night at all (Sehun assumed not), but he remembered the impression Junmyeon left on him from that night.

Sehun remembered how Junmyeon looked the type to be just as clean and sharp at home as he was in public, but was proven wrong otherwise once they reached his apartment. The amount of times they almost tripped as they kissed in Junmyeon’s room as they tried to make their way to the bed was a bit alarming, but made for a funny memory. 

Junmyeon also looked like the type who was, as Sehun mentally described it, “vanilla.” Sehun was proven wrong once again when they were finally in the bedroom. From that night, he remembers Junmyeon taking the lead the entire time. Sehun was usually the submissive type, depending on the person, but with Junmyeon, it felt natural to let him be the one in control. 

Despite three years having gone by, Sehun never forgot Junmyeon and how incredible it was being with him. Over time, the visions of that night grew less blurry in his mind. He still kept the pictures they took on their phone, looking at them whenever he wanted to remember that night. 

The rest of the evening continues on with them talking. They discuss more about what Junmyeon has to do on the job, like opening and closing, handling dangerous situations, the usual. The discussion doesn’t become any more personal from what was previously spoken and Junmyeon leaves the bar feeling more confident and reassured about his new job. 

 

As soon as Junmyeon’s car exited the lot, Sehun pulled out his phone. He looked at the pictures of Junmyeon from that night again. 

“How is he real?” Sehun never thought that he’d ever run into Junmyeon again, especially not under current circumstances. He was never one to believe in love at first sight, soulmates, or destiny, but given recent events, Sehun was starting to consider the reality of those concepts.

 

Sitting in bed, Junmyeon was on his phone scrolling through Facebook. He hadn’t originally intended on spending nearly half an hour on Sehun’s profile, yet there he was. With each post that his eyes scrolled through, the more Junmyeon learned about Sehun. 

He hadn’t posted much within the past year or so, but luckily for Junmyeon, Sehun’s instagram account was linked to his profile so whenever he updated there, the corresponding image would be posted on his Facebook as well. 

Just a couple pictures alone was enough to share about Sehun. Around a year and a half ago, Sehun got a tattoo on his stomach, right above where the hem of his jeans began, with the word “vivi.” Junmyeon himself wasn’t quite sure what the meaning behind the tattoo was and there wasn’t an explanation that Sehun provided when posting that picture. Another detail Junmyeon learned that he would have never expected just by first meeting him and seeing him person was that Sehun’s tried a ton of hair colors before. He scrolled down far enough to see a younger Sehun, probably in his late teens or early twenties, go through rainbow, blonde, pink, and silver hair. Along with the tattoo and the hair, there were two things that Junmyeon noticed that remained consistent through Sehun’s posts: one being that Sehun had a small dog with a thick coat of white fur that he enjoyed taking pictures and videos of; and the second being that whenever Sehun took selfies, his face would never fully be in the picture, it would either be just the top of his face, just the side of his face, or his face would be obscured by a v-sign. Having gained all this information, the feeling Junmyeon once had about Sehun came back, the feeling that he might have met or seen Sehun somewhere.

Feeling like he had scrolled down Sehun’s profile long enough, Junmyeon decided it was time to go to sleep. Just as he was about to get up to turn off the light, his phone rang. It was Jongdae. 

“What do you want?”

Junmyeon was immediately greeted by a scoff on the other line. “Wow, I don’t think that’s exactly how you should be treating the person who tried to help you get another job.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes.

“I was just about to go to bed, asshole.” He could hear Jongdae chuckling.

“I just wanted to ask how things went with Sehun. I assume you got the job?”

“I did.”

Now there was just silence, but of course, Jongdae would be the one to break that.

“So what’d you think of him?”

Junmyeon thought for a second. “I was actually quite surprised. I mean, I didn’t really have any expectations but I really didn’t expect him to be so...young?”

“Yeah, when I got closer to him and told me about his life, I really couldn’t believe it. Actually, I take that back. I could. A young, rich playboy like him owning his father’s bar and having his popularity and good looks contribute to it’s success? It’d only make sense.”

 _Playboy_. There was that word again. Junmyeon remembered Sehun had used it while describing himself earlier. “Hey, when you say ‘playboy’ what exactly do you mean?”

“Well, you see, before he was this young, rich and handsome bartender, he was a young, rich playboy. These are his words by the way.”

“Right.”

“He told me that when he was in high school and university, all he did was fool around. He did well enough in school to get good grades and graduate, but he was notorious for sleeping around. Apparently, he used to go to bars and clubs at least two to three times a week.”

“Even while he was a student?”

“Unbelievable, I know! And you wanna know why he gets business a lot? Even during the dead hours of the day when no one’s really drinking?”

“Tell me.” Junmyeon was really curious about that.

“He fucks his customers.” To Junmyeon, the reveal felt pretty anticlimactic. 

“What?” Junmyeon said in a more casual than surprised tone.

“I don’t think he really does it anymore, but early on, people would go to his bar just so they could try to hook up with him. And you know how he keeps the bar open, like, everyday right? He’s probably fucked hundreds of strangers! Boy’s got game.”

“I never really expected that to be his marketing strategy, using himself.”

Jongdae laughed at the comment. “Me neither, I’m surprised he admitted that. He didn’t say it in a way like he was using his body to get his body successful, he explained it to me as if it just so happened to be that people wanted to sleep with him so they poured in every night just to see if they could.”

“So how does he get customers during the day then?”

“You know how the bar is located in the city? He gets a lot of white collar people walking in who need a drink to escape their stressful jobs. He told me that he was surprised when some of them would start showing interest in him.”

“Like sexually?”

“Sehun told me some would go in, talk to him, eventually try to fuck him; while others would go in, talk to him, and try to end up in a relationship with him. He figured that it was because of his age, it had to do with them wanting to baby him.”

“That’s...interesting.”

“I guess he’s super charming. I mean, good looks can only get you so far but he’s got the personality that attracts others so it works. And those upper class workers? They tip _a lot_.

“I guess I have something to look forward to at work now.”

“You’re referring to the tips right...not his dick?”

If Junmyeon was sipping on water, he’d spit it out dramatically. “The tips, Jongdae. The tips.”

“Or one specific man’s tip, am I right?”

“Good night, Jongdae.” Junmyeon hung up immediately, drowning out Jongdae’s whining, “Aw, come on!”

 

It was five minutes to 3 PM and Junmyeon was still standing outside the bar. He called Sehun twice but it went straight to voicemail. After hearing what Jongdae said last night, Junmyeon was wondering if Sehun was still the same person he was before, sleeping around with customers. _It’s none of my business_ , he thought. 

“Hey!” Junmyeon turned around.

Sehun was practically jogging toward him, a bunch of keys in one hand.

“Sorry about that. I know I told you to be here before three yet here I am, showing up late. I’m not usually this unprofessional,” Sehun explained as he opened the doors to the bar.

“It’s cool. I was starting to get worried.” They entered the bar.

“You didn’t have to worry. Things just got crazy last night.”

Junmyeon questioned if he just woke up. Sehun showed up this time in a black shirt and blue denim jeans. Both were basic articles of clothing, yet on Sehun they looked well fit and complimented his body proportions. His hair, however, was more of a mess, sticking up in different directions. He found it cute. 

“You can just wait by the counter while I wash up real quick.”

Junmyeon made his way to the counter. He thought he would clean up the counters and sweep the floor but as he looked around, he realized he didn’t have to. The way Sehun said things got crazy last night, he would’ve assumed that the place would still be a mess, which wasn’t the case. 

All the chairs were on top of the table, the counters were clean, the floor also swept. He wondered who else he had employed at the bar for night shifts. 

It wasn’t long until Sehun appeared next to Junmyeon. He could smell the lingering scent of toothpaste off him, probably toothpaste. “Sorry, shall we get started?”

Junmyeon looked up slightly at Sehun. Standing this close to him, he never realized their height difference. “Junmyeon?”

He also didn’t realize that he was staring. “What? Yeah, sorry, I’m good.”

Sehun giggled. “That’s good.” Junmyeon blushed as Sehun began explaining the layout of the counter and where everything was. He showed Junmyeon the setup of the shelves under the counter and along the wall, where glasses and other utensils were stored, and how to turn on the lights and cooler in the booth. It was a pretty simple layout which only helped Junmyeon remember everything smoothly. 

Junmyeon was amused at how Sehun explained everything. When he was sure Sehun wasn’t looking, Junmyeon would steal glances at him, entranced by the way Sehun spoke. He noticed that when Sehun spoke, his lips would pout just a little. _He’s so cute_ , Junmyeon thought. 

Another twenty minutes passed by before Sehun finally finished explaining the whole setup of the bar and the layout of the room. “Does everything make sense?” Sehun asked. The two of them were now standing next to the mini stage area. 

Junmyeon nodded, “Yeah.”

“Good! Since this is your first day, I’ll be hanging around later on, in case you run into any troubles. I doubt you will though.”

Junmyeon couldn’t help but find it crazy how Sehun was so professional with him. Of course, he was the one in charge of Junmyeon but he couldn’t help but expect a different version of Sehun to peak through all the formality.

“But right now, I have to go to the bank and deal with finances for the bar. You should be fine on your own for like an hour or so, right? Usually one or two people come in at the beginning.” 

“You have nothing to worry about,” Junmyeon reassured. 

And with that, Sehun grabbed his keys and walked toward the door. He turned around just before leaving completely, catching Junmyeon, who had already stationed himself behind the counter, off guard. “Hey, Junmyeon?”

“Yes?”

“Since you’re older than me, is it alright if I call you ‘hyung’?”

The question took Junmyeon by surprise. Here Sehun was, younger than Junmyeon and in a position of power, yet Sehun wanted to refer to him as ‘hyung.’

“You don’t have to, I mean, you’re the one in charge.”

Sehun just smiled. “Okay, hyung.” He closed the door behind him. Once Junmyeon realized he was standing in the room alone, nothing but silence to be heard, did he let out a sigh of relief, then a small laugh. Sehun definitely proved to be someone Junmyeon would never easily forget.

 

As Sehun pulled out of the parking lot, his phone began ringing. He pressed the button on his steering wheel to answer the call via the car’s bluetooth. “Hello?”

“How’s the first day going with your favorite one night stand?” It was Jongin. Of course. 

“Do you know how hard it is to be in his presence for more than five seconds and not be able to tell him how much I wish he would fuck me the same way he did that night?”

He could hear Jongin’s obnoxious laugh. “He doesn’t remember you at all?”

“Well, no. I didn’t bring it up. It’d be weird to to tell him that all these years, I’ve kept his pictures of him on my phone despite thinking I’d never see him again.”

“Are you going to ever tell him?”

Sehun thought hard about that. In fact, ever since Jongdae showed him Junmyeon’s pictures that one day at the gym, he’s never stopped thinking about him since. Before that day, the only time Sehun would think about Junmyeon and that night was when he really let himself get lost in his thoughts. It wouldn’t happen quite often, but whenever it did, he would start to feel a little sad. Out of all the people whom Sehun had shared many intimate nights with, Junmyeon was the one person Sehun wanted to meet again. He barely knew him, that night still a blur to him sometimes, but Sehun knew he wanted to meet Junmyeon again.

Having Junmyeon show up to his bar to work for him still felt completely surreal. He wanted to keep Junmyeon in his life, even if meant them just working together, he’d still feel grateful. Based on his interactions with Junmyeon so far, Sehun felt confident that they could remain friends even if Junmyeon were to find another job elsewhere. What Sehun found challenging was trying to stop himself from completely falling head over heels for Junmyeon. 

“I’m...I’m not too sure about that.” There was wariness in his voice, and judging by Jongin’s silent pause, Sehun knew his friend could tell what he was feeling.

“Please don’t tell me you’re in love with him already? Hundreds of people you’ve met since then and all of a sudden, it takes one guy reappearing after a one night stand that he himself probably doesn’t remember for you to finally have romantic feelings for someone?”

Sehun had to admit that Jongin did have a point. He never really let people get too close to him, at least not romantically. But recently, Sehun’s been feeling like he could slowly bring those walls down, but only for one person in particular. 

 

An hour and a half passed by until Sehun returned to the bar. He had stopped by a takeout place and ordered two plates for him and Junmyeon. It was amusing to see Junmyeon’s eyes light up as Sehun walked in with food in his hands.

“I wasn’t sure if you ate before coming here, I know I sure didn’t, and I thought it’d be pretty shitty if I didn’t bring you anything while I sat here just eating my food, so I bought you food too.”

Junmyeon had a light lunch two hours prior to getting to work (he questioned that decision earlier when he heard his stomach growling), so he was extremely thankful that Sehun brought food for them. “I’m starving,” he admitted. 

Sehun unloaded the two box plates from the plastic bags. “I was craving barbeque chicken so I stopped by a place that sells exactly that. I hope that’s cool.”

By the way Junmyeon started scarfing down a spoonful of rice and a bite of barbeque, Sehun didn’t have to wonder whether or not Junmyeon was cool with it. 

“Had anyone come in yet?”

Junmyeon swallowed before responding, “nope,” and took another bite of food.

“There’ll definitely a lot of down time on the job, so you’re free to just watch the tv, be on your phone, whatever.” Junmyeon just nodded as his mouth was full.

Sehun suddenly remembered something. “Hyung, didn’t Jongdae say you were a photographer?”

“I am, why? Do you know someone’s who’s in need of a photographer?” Junmyeon got caught up in Sehun knowing he was a photographer that he hadn’t even given himself any time to internally freak out about how he just called him ‘hyung.’

Meanwhile, Sehun couldn’t help but laugh at Junmyeon’s eagerness. “Sorry, not right now. What I was thinking was that you could bring your work here if you’d like. You have to edit your photos right? You’re free to do that here too.”

“Really? Thank you.” 

Sehun took his final spoonful of food then started talking again, food still in his mouth. “If you’re looking for some more work, I think I might know some people who need their headshots taken.”

Junmyeon perked up at the idea, but before he could inquire any further, he noticed the speck of barbeque sauce on the corner of Sehun’s mouth. “Sehun, wait.”

“Huh?” Without even realizing, Junmyeon was already reaching his hand out, and before he knew it, his thumb was wiping the sauce off of Sehun’s face. “Sorry,” Junmyeon said shyly.

Sehun tried to look down to his mouth, then looked back up at Sehun. “Thanks.”

Junmyeon finished the rest of his plate in silence while Sehun flipped through the channels on the tv above the counter. He couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened. He didn’t know exactly why he was making a big deal about it in his head. He pushed the thought away and shifted his attention to whatever Sehun was watching on the tv.

Sehun was mindlessly changing channels so Junmyeon let his eyes wander around him. Because Sehun’s back was facing Junmyeon, that’s where his eyes went first. 

_His shoulders really are broad_ , Junmyeon found himself thinking. Suddenly a wave of familiarity passes over him, similar to the feeling he had the day before. His eyes traced over the top of Sehun’s back, starting from the left shoulder, slowly making its way to the right. _Have I met him somewhere?_

Junmyeon’s fixation on Sehun comes to a halt once Sehun gets up. Junmyeon goes back to pretending like he was eating the whole time instead of staring blankly at Sehun’s back. 

“You’re still eating, hyung?” Sehun begins to stretch, locking his fingers and raising them up. A strip of Sehun’s tummy was exposed as his shirt rose. Junmyeon could see the tattoo above Sehun’s jeans. He remembers it from the picture last night but for some reason, Junmyeon feels like this isn’t the first time he’s seeing that tattoo. 

 

The next couple weeks at the bar run smoothly for both Junmyeon and Sehun. It only took Junmyeon a couple shifts until Sehun thought that he was capable of opening, working, and closing the bar on his own. Although Sehun admitted to himself that he enjoyed every minute he spent with Junmyeon, he was glad he could sleep in and lounge around at home after his late night shifts at the bar knowing Junmyeon was able to take control during the day. 

 

It was nearing Fall, which meant that the crazy nights at the bar would slowly minimize as more students would be going back to school. But as the days until the semester started grew smaller, the nights only grew crazier and wilder. Junmyeon wasn’t necessarily experiencing those nights firsthand but he could definitely tell in the way Sehun was found sleeping crouched over the counter on a late August afternoon. 

When Junmyeon had entered, everything looked as expected: chairs still placed over the tables, floor swept clean, except for a couple of other things that wouldn’t have been what Junmyeon would expect to see. 

The tv was still on and Sehun was found with his rested on top of his arms folded over the counter. When Junmyeon got a closer look at Sehun, he looked tired, but still at peace. 

Not wanting to wake up Sehun just yet, Junmyeon started setting the place up. He unloaded the chairs, shut off the tv, and cleaned the counter and floor space around Sehun. 

Once he finished, Junmyeon was just going to scroll through his phone’s newsfeed until Sehun woke up when he remembered the little room tucked behind the bar wall that had an instant coffee maker.

Fortunately, the bar had cameras set up and there was a tv in the room in which Junmyeon could monitor if anyone came in while making coffee. Having caught onto the fact that Sehun has a sweet tooth while working here, Junmyeon chose the donut shop kcup and placed it in the keurig. 

Once done, he poured the coffee into two cups and brought it out to the counter where Sehun was asleep. It didn’t take long until Sehun shuffled slightly. Junmyeon could see Sehun’s nose scrunching. Junmyeon moved the cup of coffee closer to Sehun for his amusement. 

A couple nose scrunches later and Sehun started blinking before his eyes fully opened. A slight groan escaped his mouth and suddenly he sat upright. Junmyeon’s body shook in surprise. “Are you alright?!”

“Where am I?!” Sehun turned his head in different directions warily before he realized he was just at the bar. “Oh. Fuck.”

“It’s okay,” Junmyeon reassured, “No one came in. I made you coffee though.”

Sehun looked at the cup. He picked it up, smelled it, then took a sip. Sehun scrunched his face, a reaction Junmyeon assumed was from the heat of the coffee. “So that’s what woke me up.”

Now that Sehun was up and awake, Junmyeon could really see how exhausted Sehun was. His hair, to which Junmyeon found cute, was messy, standing up in many different directions. This wasn’t a sight Junmyeon was used to seeing but in addition to the hair, Sehun also had bags under his eyes. He was worried.

“What happened last night?”

Sehun took another sip of his coffee. “Nothing too crazy. I just let the place stay open for two hours more than usual so my body probably shut down after cleaning up. The last thing I remember is sitting down in this spot and checking the weather on the tv.”

“I was so surprised to see you sleeping there when I came in. Everything looked as usual until I saw you passed out. I assumed things went crazy last night.”

“Yeah, if it wasn’t for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s help, you probably still would’ve walked in on me passed out, but the place would have been absolute trash.”

Junmyeon was unsure of how to respond so he just took a sip of his coffee. 

“Fuck, I forgot to do something.”

Sehun then got off the chair and crouched down, pulled out a notepad, a calculator and a pen from the bottom drawer and placed it on the counter. He then moved to the register on the side of the countertop and began taking out all the bills and coins, also placing them on the counter next to the notepad. He began scribbling numbers and pressing numbers on the calculator. 

For someone who had been working there for over a month, Junmyeon hadn’t really seen Sehun so focused and in his element like this before. He didn’t want to disturb him but after a couple cuss words slipping from Sehun’s mouth, Junmyeon was wondering if he should Sehun home. 

“Sehun?”

No response. “Sehun?” he tried again.

Sehun continued working. 

“Sehun.” This time, Junmyeon raised his voice a bit. Sehun looked at him. 

“Sorry, hyung. Yes?”

He was looking at Junmyeon with such tired eyes. “I think you should go home and get some rest.”

“You don’t understand, I _have_ to finish counting all the money from last night and log them down. I always triple check and log it down on paper and electronically. I haven’t finished my first round of counting yet!”

Junmyeon was only starting to realize now how much effort Sehun put into maintaining the bar. He did find it quite odd, the way Sehun acquired the bar, but he couldn’t deny that Sehun worked extremely hard to keep the place running smoothly. It only made Junmyeon want to work even harder, even though his job required him to basically sit for a couple hours and pour drinks for white collar workers who came in and talked to him about their problems. 

“Sehun, I can do it. Just get some rest.”

“I-” Sehun hated when he didn’t get his work done on time. He was disappointed in himself for not having finished counting before he passed out earlier but after hearing the slight tone of worry in Junmyeon’s voice, he thought that maybe he should do as he says. 

“Alright.”

Sehun picked up his cup of coffee and walked to the door, Junmyeon only a couple of steps behind him. Before opening the door, Sehun turned around and faced Junmyeon. “Thank you, hyung. For looking out for me.” 

Junmyeon held the door open and stood in the doorway and watched as Sehun walked to his car. “Get some rest!” He continued to watch as Sehun drove away.

“Do my eyes deceive me or does it look like Junmyeon’s in love?”

Junmyeon turned his head in the direction of the voice. 

Jongdae and Minseok were walking towards him. “What do you guys want?” Jongdae only scoffed in return.

“We wanted to visit you at work,” Minseok replied with an honest smile. Junmyeon stepped back and held the door open so they could enter.

“Wow, it’s actually different to see what this place looks like in broad daylight and when it isn’t packed!” Jongdae said, slowly walking inside, while Minseok quickly found a stool to sit on by the bar.

Junmyeon made his way behind the counter as Jongdae sat next to Minseok. 

Minseok, being the caffeine aficionado that he was, spotted the cup of coffee and smelled it. “Keurig?”

“Yeah, do you want it?” Minseok nodded his head. “I’ll gladly accept,” said Jongdae. 

“So…” Minseok started. “So?” Junmyeon responded. 

“You and Sehun seem close,” Minseok said cheekily. Junmyeon rolled his eyes at the comment. “He’s my boss.”

“Hey, you wanna know what I’ve been noticing recently?” piped Jongdae.

“Not really.” Jongdae shot him an angry expression at Junmyeon only to continue talking a second later.

“As I was saying, I’ve been noticing that ever since Junmyeon’s been working for a certain someone, he seems more happier and content with life. Don’t you think so too, Minseok?”

“Actually, he has a point.” Junmyeon frowned, “Not you too!”

“Recently you have been more happier, from what I’ve seen. You don’t seem as stressed or anxious. It could be the fact that you have another job to help pay the bills, but I also don’t wanna count out the fact that it could be because you’ve found someone.”

“When you say that I’ve found someone, what exactly do you mean?”

This time Jongdae spoke. “Ever since your breakup, you haven’t really met anyone new. And seeing the way you were watching Sehun drive off, it looked like he was more than just your boss.”

Minseok agreed, “Exactly. You don’t just give heart eyes to anyone, especially not towards someone you would typically call your ‘boss.’”

“You guys sound ridiculous. I’m not in love with Sehun.”

“Um, no one said you were,” Jongdae said before looking away and sipping on his coffee. Minseok snorted. 

“You know, Sehun’s been telling us all about this guy he says he’s fallen for whenever we meet at the gym, and we kind of think it’s you.” Junmyeon furrowed his brow at Minseok’s revelation. He started to recall if there were ever a time Sehun seemed more affectionate towards Junmyeon, which became a challenge, because he couldn’t really distinguish if Sehun was the type of person to be more affectionate towards a person when he liked them romantically or if he was just naturally affectionate to everyone. 

“What’s he said?”

Minseok and Jongdae looked at each other. “We were joking but judging by your sudden interest it seems like you might actually be interested in Sehun!”

“I said he’s my boss!”

Minseok and Jongdae only laughed. “You guys are horrible,” Junmyeon said, but he couldn’t help laugh with the other two.

“We’re just messing around with you, hyung. If you do end up seeing Sehun, that’d be totally fine. He seems like a really nice guy and it looks like you’re one of the few people he’s letting get closer to him.”

“Closer to him?” Junmyeon was surprised at Jongdae’s sentiment comment and the sudden confession about Sehun being the type to not let people get close to him. 

“Yeah, he’s told me about how he doesn’t normally pursue any of his one night stands or tinder dates. It’s probably why he hasn’t really hired anyone to work the day shift here.”

This was all new to Junmyeon. Was he attracted to Sehun? It would be hard for anyone not to be attracted to him; but did Junmyeon like Sehun romantically? That’s what he had been trying to figure out.

 

It’s now the middle of October and Junmyeon still has not stopped thinking about what Jongdae said that day when he walked into work and found Sehun sleeping over the counter. As for whether he’s noticed if Sehun’s shown any signs of liking him romantically, he couldn’t really tell. 

The pair have gotten closer, that Junmyeon is sure enough of. The more they got to know each other and see what the other’s like, Sehun’s grown more comfortable with Junmyeon in showing a more relaxed side of him. It was something Junmyeon grew used to, seeing Sehun act his age around him, despite being the one with authority. It was evident through so many of Sehun’s actions, such as calling Junmyeon ‘hyung’ in a cute tone of voice, or pouting whenever Junmyeon chose to not stay for another drink whenever he came to the bar at night.

 

Because the school year was in full swing, Sehun decided to minimize the amount of days he kept the bar open during the week. Normally, he’d keep it open throughout the week, but he changed it to having night hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, while keeping it open every day during the afternoon hours. 

This change allowed Sehun to fool around like he used to, but only by just a little bit. He would go out with Jongin a lot of nights, hook up with a random stranger every now and then, but every night when he got to bed, he’d still find the time to look through his camera roll again, staring at the same four pictures of him and Junmyeon from that night. 

 

It’s about three in the morning when Junmyeon’s phone starts ringing. “Who the hell is calling me at this hour?” he says to himself. He reaches over to grab his phone and answers without getting a good look at the caller’s ID. “Hello?” he says a little too aggressively.

“Hyuuuuuung,” says a familiar, but groggy and slightly high pitched voice on the other line. It’s 3 AM on an early Wednesday morning. There really wasn’t much people Junmyeon knew who would be up at that time. “Sehun?” He checks the name on his phone to confirm that it indeed is Sehun.

“Can I talk to you about something? We’re close enough right?”

Junmyeon had no idea what Sehun would wanna talk about and why he was the one Sehun chose to call. He wondered where Sehun was and if he was alone. 

“Is everything alright?” Junmyeon can hear the loud music on the other line and barely manages to make out what Sehun’s saying if it hadn’t been for him practically breathing his voice into the speaker. 

“There you go again, being oh so caring. Hyung, why do you care for me so much?”

“What?” was all Junmyeon could muster. “Sehun, is everything okay? Are you alone?”

“Hyung, what do you do when you’re in love with someone who probably doesn’t feel the same about you?”

Junmyeon had no idea where all of this was coming from. He’d assume that they were close enough to be having these kinds of conversations sober but the topic of love and relationships was never quite brought up. This made Junmyeon assume that Sehun wasn’t interested in anyone; even if he was, and Sehun wasn’t comfortable or didn’t want to share that with Junmyeon, he would have respected his wishes regardless.

“He’s too good for me. He’s the living, breathing form of perfection.” Sehun’s words were now becoming a mix of slurs and soft sobs. Just how many drinks did Sehun have that night?

“Sehun-ah, do you need me to come pick you up?” 

Completely ignoring Junmyeon’s question, Sehun continued, “I’ve never said this about anyone, have never come close to feeling this way about this person with anyone else, but I think I’m…” Silence fills the conversation. He takes a couple audible breaths before continuing. “God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fuck, I think I’m in love with him.”

 _Wow_ , Junmyeon thinks, _I wonder who this person is_. It doesn’t take long for Junmyeon to come to terms with the heavy feeling he feels in his chest. He doesn’t say anything, hoping Sehun’ll continue on with his drunk confessions.

“Hyung?” This time the way Sehun says it makes it sound more of a cry rather than a question, but Junmyeon doesn’t respond. He doesn’t realize he’s holding in his breath until his body lets out an unexpected gasp. 

“Hyung, you know that just because I call you ‘hyung’ it doesn’t necessarily mean I see you as a brother, right?”

 _No, I don’t know_. Junmyeon was only more confused. 

“I have to go, hyung. Jongin and Chanyeol are dragging me out of this place.” His voice sounds less miserable and more childlike again. “Bye, hyung. Love you.”

Junmyeon’s eyes widen at the last two words. “Okay, that’s enough-” says a frustrated Chanyeol on the other line. The call then drops.

Junmyeon starts to reevaluate their relationship. Yes, they were close, but they were never the type to say words like “love you” when they were greeting each other farewell. He was aware of that, and he was pretty sure Sehun was too. He’s trying to figure out why Sehun drunk called him and suddenly crying over his feelings, and why all of a sudden Sehun decided to use the phrase “love you” to Junmyeon. 

More importantly, Junmyeon was trying to figure out why he felt an immediate change in emotion once he heard the words “I’m in love with him” escape Sehun’s mouth. 

 

In an ironic turn of events, Sehun wakes up not remembering a thing. He wakes up in his bed alone, as he expected. A massive headache hits him immediately and he feels his throat dry up. 

He makes his way to his kitchen for a glass of water and ibuprofen. He gets past his living room before his mind catches onto the sound of the tv on. “Chanyeol?”

There he was, Chanyeol Park, body draped on Sehun’s sofa. He doesn’t look over to him, just responds, “Yeah.”

Sehun doesn’t inquire further and continues to the kitchen. He stands before the counter, watching mindlessly at some cartoon Chanyeol’s chosen to watch on the tv. He stands there for a bit, letting his mind become entranced with the animations. 

Once the show reaches a commercial break does Chanyeol finally move. He gets up and looks at Sehun, “You feeling better? You got pretty wrecked last night.”

“Did I?” Sehun scratched his head. “I literally can’t remember a thing.”

“Maybe that’s for the better…” Chanyeol then makes a face of shock and regret then turns his body back to facing the tv. 

“Hold on, what do you mean that’s for the better?” Chanyeol doesn’t respond, which prompts Sehun to walk toward the couch and sit right next to Chanyeol’s feet. 

“Hyung-” the phrase suddenly feels like acid on his tongue, and he’s not exactly sure why.

“What exactly happened last night?”

“It might be better for you if you don’t know.” Sehun was growing frustrated. He grabbed the small pillow behind him and started playfully hitting Chanyeol with it.

“Tell! Me! What! Happened!” Sehun exclaimed between hits. 

Eventually, Chanyeol gives in. “Alright, alright! But don’t get mad at me when you realized what you did!”

“What did I do?”

Chanyeol doesn’t hold back. “You got crazy drunk, so did Jongin and I, but not as blacked out as you. I don’t quite remember how it happened or what triggered you but all of a sudden you were running and left the club. Jongin and I were running around the city for twenty minutes before we eventually found you sitting on the curb of a random dead end.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“We found you crying on the phone, repeating the word ‘hyung’ to…”

Sehun had an idea where this conversation was going but he was waiting for Chanyeol to say who he was talking to.

“Junmyeon.” And there it is. 

Sehun’s surprised at his lack of reaction. Who else would he have called while drunk and in his feelings?

“You also ended the call by saying,” Chanyeol cleared his throat, and in the most Sehun-like voice, said, “love you.”

That’s when reality finally hits. “I- what?”

Before Chanyeol could respond, Sehun runs back to his room and checks his phone. There’s no new notifications. He screams from his room, “Did he hear me tell him that I loved him?”

A couple seconds later, Chanyeol shouts back from the living room, “I’m pretty sure! I mean, we weren’t sure what you said to him before we got there, but you were in tears and ended the call by saying ‘love you.’” It sounded more of a farewell rather than a confession.”

Sehun thought that he should have felt comforted by the idea but he didn’t. Now he had some major anxiety to go well with his pounding headache. He dropped onto his bed and allowed his eyes to close, sleep finally coming not long after. 

 

 

To his misfortune, Junmyeon wakes up to the sound of his phone ringing again. This time he checks who’s calling. Who else would it be other than Sehun?

Junmyeon tries to debate mentally whether to answer or let it go to voicemail, but the decision is made all too quickly when his thumb betrays him and slips on the ‘accept’ button. He can hear Sehun saying ‘hello’ without even having his phone near his ear.

“Hello?” Junmyeon answers warily. 

“Hyung! Good morning,” Junmyeon slightly flinches at the word ‘hyung’ and he remembers exactly why. He also recognizes the pleasant tone in Sehun’s voice, which is surprising for someone who should be having a pretty bad hangover.

Sehun continues, “Can I come over?”

Junmyeon expects more but once he realizes Sehun’s waiting for a response, he answers back. “Right now?”

“Yeah, if that’s okay.”

Junmyeon figures Sehun’s probably found out from either Chanyeol or Jongin about what happened last night and wants to come over so he can clear up any possible feelings he might have for Junmyeon. “Yeah, it’s okay.”

 

After a shower and a microwaved hot pocket for lunch, Junmyeon waits for Sehun. He sits on his phone and this time he’s upgraded his Sehun-social-media-stalking to Instagram instead of Facebook. 

He revisits the same pictures that he’s seen on Sehun’s Facebook. For some odd reason, Junmyeon always finds himself gravitating back to the picture of Sehun’s tattoo of the word ‘vivi’ on his stomach. It’s a picture that’s badly filtered but Junmyeon identifies it as a personal favorite. Sehun’ll never know that though.

Speaking of, there’s a knock at the door, and it mildly startles Junmyeon. He locks his phone and gets up to answer the door. Once opened, Junmyeon’s greeted by a face of Sehun’s that he felt like he hasn’t seen in awhile. Dark circles, a hoodie, sweats, and slides, Sehun walks in and flops onto the couch. Junmyeon sits on the opposite end, allowing Sehun to put his legs up. 

Junmyeon starts the conversation in an attempt to eliminate any awkward silence that could hang between them. “Is everything okay? You were kind of-”

“-a mess?”

“-last night. I was going to say ‘roughed up’ but ‘mess’ fits just as well.”

Sehun folds his legs to his chest, bringing his arms to hug them closer to him. It’s moments like this where Junmyeon forgets that Sehun’s his boss. 

“Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it.” Ironically, Sehun pauses. 

Junmyeon takes the opportunity to make himself clear, “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to, but, know that I am someone you can confide in, if ever needed.”

He thought about extending his hand out and affectionately placing it on Sehun’s knee, but he felt like that was pushing it, and he didn’t want to be internally cringing more than he already was. 

“The day you came into the bar for the first time? That wasn’t the first time we met. We met like, three years ago at some club and hooked up. Obviously you don’t remember, but fortunately I do, and I have the pics to prove it. Anyway, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since, and so when Jongdae said he had a friend looking for a part-time job and showed me your picture, I just had to give in. I thought ‘when would an opportunity like this ever come again?’ so naturally I told Jongdae to invite you. Now of course I wasn’t going to have you come in and suddenly be like ‘oh hey remember when we hooked up that one night?’ because that would be weird. So I just thought that we could just keep this whole employee-boss relationship formal, right? As long as you were part of my life in some way, I’d be content-” he paused for a breathe, only to have Junmyeon interrupt.

“Sehun, slow. Down.” 

Sehun pouted. “I lost my train of thought, thanks.”

Not knowing where to pick up, Sehun begins again, “I guess I’m here to just tell you that I’m kind of in love with you and I’m sorry for disturbingly drunk calling you last night.” What feels like a ginormous weight is finally lifted off Sehun’s chest and he can’t help but exhale deeply. He drops his head between his knees and lets his head rest there for a bit before looking back up at Junmyeon. 

Junmyeon’s face is a mixture of confusion and empathy, then suddenly his face lights up as if a lightbulb was floating above his head. 

Everything finally clicked. That’s why Sehun seems so familiar to him. “I remember now!”

Vivid memories of that night come rushing to Junmyeon’s head. He remembers trailing kisses down Sehun’s body as they undressed that night, taking a good look at the tattoo before removing Sehun’s underwear. He remembers the view of Sehun’s shoulders as Sehun took all of Junmyeon. He remembers the real way he met Sehun for the first time, and how his mildly drunk and horny self couldn’t help but fixate on Sehun’s lips and the way they pouted when he spoke, imagining what it would be like to have those lips on his cock. 

“Hyung, are you alright? It looks like you’ve found the cure to cancer.” Junmyeon snaps out of it. 

“No, but this feels close enough.” He moves toward Sehun, who slowly parts his legs and lays them flat on the couch. Junmyeon brings his face closer to Sehun and their noses touch slightly. He then shifts his head downward just a bit so their foreheads touch before finally eliminating the distance between them, connecting their lips. 

Sehun’s lips were soft to the touch. Junmyeon’s amused at how eager Sehun is, the way he kisses with a burning passion. Sehun lets his back fall slowly to the couch’s armrest while Junmyeon starts trailing kisses down his neck and chest, and it’s fine until Sehun feels a cramp in his neck from trying to hold his head up. “Hyung, my neck hurts.” 

Junmyeon brings his head up, “Shit, sorry! Bring your body lower.” Sehun does so, and Junmyeon goes back to kissing all over Sehun’s chest and neck. 

Seconds turn into minutes and soon enough minutes turn into what felt like hours, just the two of them kissing. But it’s comfortable for them and they continue like that on the couch for a while, lips pressed against lips, lips pressed against skin, hands running up and down the other’s body. The way this all played out wasn’t exactly how they imagined it would, but they were both relieved to finally be where they were.

**Author's Note:**

> big thanks to the mods for hosting another round and being really helpful and patient! :)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/offsynth)


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